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Are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients cognitively normal?
Lomen-Hoerth C, Murphy J, Langmore S, Kramer JH, Olney RK, Miller B.. Neurology, 2003-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Patients with ALS are often told that the disease spares cognition; however, recent evidence suggests deficits in frontal executive skills occur in a sizable minority of ALS patients. In many instances, the frontal executive deficits represent the co-occurrence of frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD) and ALS. Methods Word generation, a simple frontal task that takes Results Diminished word generation was found in one-third. Of the patients with abnormal word generation who agreed to further evaluation, nearly all were shown to meet research criteria for FTLD. In addition, one-quarter of the patients with normal word generation who agreed to further evaluation met research criteria for FTLD; these patients had new-onset personality changes. Conclusions This study suggests that frontal executive deficits are present in half of ALS patients, many of whom meet strict research criteria for FTLD. Word generation tests are a useful screening tool in this cohort.
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APA 7th
Lomen-Hoerth, C., Murphy, J., Langmore, S., Kramer, J. H., Olney, R. K., & Miller, B. (2003). Are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients cognitively normal? Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000055861.95202.8d
Vancouver
Lomen-Hoerth C, Murphy J, Langmore S, Kramer JH, Olney RK, Miller B. Are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients cognitively normal? Neurology. 2003. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000055861.95202.8d. PMID: 12682312.
BibTeX
@article{lomenhoerth2003-12682312,
author = {Lomen-Hoerth, C. and Murphy, J. and Langmore, S. and Kramer, J. H. and Olney, R. K. and Miller, B.},
title = {{Are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients cognitively normal?}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000055861.95202.8d},
pmid = {12682312},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000055861.95202.8d}
}
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Key findings
- Methods Word generation, a simple frontal task that takes Results Diminished word generation was found in one-third.
- Conclusions This study suggests that frontal executive deficits are present in half of ALS patients, many of whom meet strict research criteria for FTLD.
Why it matters
This study found that frontal executive deficits are present in half of ALS patients, many of whom meet criteria for frontotemporal lobar dementia. It concerns cognitive problems in ALS, not the treatment, cure or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 54/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2003 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 623 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 24.9 citations a year over 25 year(s) since 2003 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 21 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 25 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Bruce L. Miller: h-index 198 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12682312) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
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